The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. Although it has long celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans. Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day.

Not even a generation out of slavery, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation and even sue slaveholders for compensation. Given the 200+ years of enslavement, such changes were nothing short of amazing. The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation as a whole. This day came to be known as 'Juneteenth,' by the newly freed people in Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.īut not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place.

A short history of reconstruction